


Few Cards Short of a Full Deck

by PrettyRedEyes



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Drabble Collection, Multi, Multi-Genre, Multiple Pairings, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pairing and Prompt, Pairing requests and challenges, Rare Pairings, Relationship tags are in order of appearance, Requests, Writing practice, will add tags with each chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-09
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-04-19 21:29:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 4,066
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4761692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PrettyRedEyes/pseuds/PrettyRedEyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of short prompt/drabble requests, challenges and random pairings.<br/>Range from overt, implied, or pre-ship pairings.<br/>Various Genres.<br/>Cross-posted from my tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Darkshipping (angst)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #1--Darkshipping (Yami no Yugi X Yami no Bakura)

  
“This happened because you were too soft,” The dark spirit’s eyes were hard and merciless from across the table, hands twined together as though he hadn’t just committed murder.

  
“Shut…up,” The man across from him shuddered, almost collapsing in his seat as his despair tore him down to his very core. On the map between them, the miniature tombs where he knew his friends had gone was destroyed, crushed into a pile of worthless rubble and his name along with them. What was left for him now?

_Yugi…was he…?_

  
“Well? Its your turn, _your Majesty_. Or do you submit?” The cold Bakura, the heartless one, sneered as he watched what he had long since viewed as his greatest nemesis breaking down before his eyes.  All so effortless. Poor, lonely, sad Pharaoh. Kill a few of of your pathetic little connections, and this happens. The murderer laughed, cruel and victorious, his eyes trailing over the all too sweet sight of Atem _(a name he’d never know now)_ dying inside. “Perhaps I could spare you, temporarily at least.”

The Millennium Ring glinted mockingly in the light, while another slowly dimmed.


	2. Fragileshipping (hope)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #2--Fragileshipping (Yami no Yugi X Ryou Bakura)

Ryou Bakura remembered being disjointed and confused when he first saw the “other Yugi.” Something dark and cold had rushed up from inside the Ring and infected him, locking him down somewhere in the depths of his mind.

  
But then he heard a voice: cool, clear, confident and strangely familiar, even though he was certain that he hadn’t heard it before. Somehow, the presence weakened the hold the darkness had on him, enough for Ryou to fight his way to awareness, to see what had possessed him controlling his body without his permission. But he also saw the one fighting for him.

  
_Yugi?_

  
No, they looked similar, but it wasn’t the same. The gleam of crimson from his eyes, a confident smile only matched by the tone of his voice. Ryou didn’t know who he was, but the stranger was fighting for him and pushing back, fighting to save him. Warmth pooled inside him, an inner strength that gave him the power to resist.

  
He wanted to thank him with his own words, greet him with his own hands. Ryou fought back the darkness. 

It was their very first meeting, but it wouldn’t be last.


	3. Wishshipping (angst)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #3--Wishshipping (Yugi X Jounouchi)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yanking quotes out of the manga seems like a fun idea.

He kept telling himself it wasn’t real, that this was just some kind of bad dream, and any minute now they were going to wake up and find that none of this was really happening. But in a way, Jounouchi had just woken up, but the reality was so much more painful than the dream.

  
_“I wanted to be able to say everything before the end.”_

  
He couldn’t block out the words echoing in his head, couldn’t stop himself from understanding what their true meaning was.

  
_“…I love you.”_

  
“Yugi…” _Please don’t do this, don't you dare do this. You can’t…_

  
But the mirror turned, shifted in spite of his pleas, and Jounouchi watched in horror as the fiery meteor enveloped the boy in its blaze. Yugi collapsed, the small remainder of his life points dropping to zero with grim finality. The box at Jounouchi’s feet clicked open and Yugi begged him to flee.

  
No.  
Not after what Yugi did. Jounouchi wouldn’t turn away.

  
_“I love you.”_

  
He refused to let him die.


	4. Revolutionshipping (mystery/confliction)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #4--Revolutionshipping (Anzu/Yami no Yugi)

> It was like she was spinning in circles, back and forth, unable to move forward and confront him. Anzu had been so confused in the beginning, before they could differentiate between the two Yugis. But now she was heading down a road of no return, couldn’t stop the guilt when Yugi said he didn’t mind. It wasn’t him her heart was urging her on for.
> 
>   
> The guilt stopped her from confronting those feelings, from moving ahead while Yugi stepped back. And Anzu had no idea how the other Yugi felt about it either.
> 
>   
> What _did_ he want?
> 
>   
>  She couldn’t ask her friend, couldn’t do that to him.  
> So she was spinning, wondering, guided by thought and fantasy instead of the concrete.
> 
> Anzu truly liked him, his confidence and power in the face of uncertainty.
> 
>   
> But…when would she ever have the nerve to know what he felt in return?


	5. Kleptoshipping (suspense)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #5--Kleptoshipping (Yugi Mutou X Yami no Bakura)

> Of course it had to be Yugi that would take the role of the most powerful monster in his opponent’s deck, somehow the role was only too fitting.
> 
>   
> And how utterly _convenient_.
> 
>   
>  Destroying his archrival would be all too perfect if the spirit could just rip the boy from his hands and turn him against his former partner. And he had the perfect method to do so as well.
> 
>   
> Dark Magician Yugi…he didn’t look half bad like that. He’d look even better when manipulated like a puppet on strings, hunting down and eliminating the people he treasured so much. Every turn that passed was a ticking clock on what remained of his freedom, and on the lives of his friends. The spirit’s trump card drew closer and closer.  
> The Pharaoh couldn’t hope to stop him, couldn’t save the boy.
> 
>   
> The twisted Bakura was going to have Yugi win him the Millennium Puzzle and nothing was going to stand in his way.
> 
> After all, aren’t games just so much more fun with a twist?


	6. Protectshipping (humor)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #6--Protectshipping (Hiroto Honda X Ryou Bakura

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> longer...   
> i like this one, i admit it

> Hiroto Honda got the call at about two in the morning, give or take, and had to work himself into wakefulness. He threw on the first outfit he could find and his trench to fight off the chill, left a hastily written note for his parents reading “friend emergency, be back later,” and booked it out the door.  
> It wasn’t like he hadn’t done so before, but not for this friend in particular.  
> He arrived at Ryou Bakura’s apartment in record time, pounding on the door and out of breath as the white-haired boy opened it for him. “Bakura-kun, you said you needed my help, what-” He stopped, straightening up as he took in the state of his friend. There were dark shadows under his eyes as though the young man hadn’t slept for days and his clothes were rumpled, but there was a relieved smile on his face. And to top it off, he wasn’t even wearing the Ring.
> 
> “Thank goodness you made it, I needed a second player!” Ryou grabbed him by the arm without any further explanation and dragged him into the next room, where a familiar game board was set up. The oh-so-feared Millennium Ring was lying unattended on the floor like a piece of harmless costume jewelry, but the other boy wasn’t focused on it, but rather the haphazard pile of papers across the floor Honda recognized as Monster World character sheets.
> 
> Unbelievable.
> 
> “What.” Honda couldn’t get anything else out to convey what he was feeling.
> 
> “Well, there’s a campaign set I wanted to plan, but I couldn’t do it alone. Yugi’s mother was upset with me the last time I tried to call him over, and I heard trying Jounouchi wasn’t wise…” Ryou paused, laughed awkwardly as shuffled the sheets into a stack together, “And it would be improper to ask Anzu over in the middle of the night, right?”
> 
> He glanced over at Honda, who was chewing on his lip in silence, wanting to be upset about this, but honestly couldn’t bring himself to. He couldn’t yell at Ryou of all people, even if he was a little stung about the false start. He’d left a note, gotten dressed and ran across the city to apparently play Monster World at almost three in the morning. No backing out now.
> 
> Honda sighed, plucked the Millennium Ring from the floor by its long cord, twirled it around his finger for a moment, and hurled it into the next room with all the distaste he could muster. “Fine, but you’re gonna have to call me earlier next time.”
> 
> Ryou handed him his Hunter’s profile with an energy that contrasted with his exhausted appearance, and spoke up, “I won’t make any promises, Honda-kun.”
> 
> Well. Looks like it was time to say goodbye to his sleep schedule.


	7. Feathershipping (achievement)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #7--Feathershipping (Yami no Yugi X Jounouchi X Yugi)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest I was inspired by the fact that only two people have ever defeated Atem in a fair fight: Yugi and Jounouchi (see: Battle City epilogue). Also that Jou’s the only one Atem telepathically contacts outside of Yugi.

The number zero always had a strong finality and symbolism inherent in it that in so many recent battles was something to fear and worry over, but that wasn’t the case here. Two duelists standing in an empty neighborhood for a battle that didn’t hinge on life and death, but of personal values, and for one the final points had just dropped down to zero.

Jounouchi stared at his friend on the opposite side, a sense of accomplishment bubbling up inside him; he saw it for what it was, as a fitting finale to their own personal Battle City. As the holograms powered down, the proud, confident Yugi paced to his side, a smile on his face that was infectious enough that Jounouchi returned a brighter one in response. A small black case was flipped open and a single card retrieved from within, handed out to him with utmost respect: The Red-Eyes Black Dragon. “We kept it safe for you,” He said in an undertone, and for a moment Jounouchi almost thought he could see both of them as he rested his fingers on the surface of the the card without quite taking it. For a moment or two, it was like two people superimposed on top of each other like the intersection between two transparent images. But while they were similar, Jounouchi could tell the distinct differences between them like night and day. 

Although they fought together, they were never actually the _same._

Jounouchi wouldn’t have it any other way, “I never doubted you for a second.”

He pulled the card slowly from yugi’s grasp and the vision (if it even was one) seemed to fade until nothing but the awareness of what he’d seen remained. He slipped his dragon back into his place in his deck, a warm feeling of completeness rumbling in his chest to have it back at his side, and turned his attention back to Yugi (the pair, in his mind’s eye remembered). There was no time for them to decipher the mischievous grin in his face before he reacted, dragging his smaller friend into a tight hug, ruffling up his spikey hair, “Can you imagine the look on Kaiba’s face?”

“Jounouchi-kun, not so rough!” The other boy called out, his voice lightening out into the kind, selfless Yugi he knew so well. But then, he never before had to listen to his voice to tell, just now for an instant with black hair crowding up his vision. And really they were running late for lunch, but they found it hard to care, because for all of Kaiba’s tech and fancy posturing, Jounouchi found this (their moment) to be the greatest part of it all. 

Only now, for him, did Battle City truly come to a close.

 


	8. Logicshipping (vision)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #8--Logicshipping (Priest Seto X Priestess Isis)

The lady Isis knew the value of caution over emotion, wrangled with it every week since the day she first fastened the Millennium Tauk upon her person, and saw what would come to be. But if her visions had steeled her mind and sharpened her resolve–for all that all that pain and understanding had hurt her–Isis only wished she had delved far enough to see the darkness unfolding around the ties of her fellow Priests. 

The Millennium Rod, for all its power and prestige had always resembled moderation in her mind, and the act of reigning in oneself for the greater good. Much like herself in some ways. She could have lost herself in worlds not yet meant to be, drifting aimlessly in the current of what could have been, but chose instead to stand among her peers and her Pharaoh to carry out His will. But Seto wavered; his emotions continued to bubble up in a wave that threatened to undo the moderation that his Item demanded of him, and Isis feared the day she’d wake in a cold sweat, dreaming of fates in her mind foretelling his eventual fall to inexorable ruin. 

Even in his loyalty, he was wrathful, in want of a reason to stain his hands with the blood of his Pharaoh’s enemies. Isis wanted to grasp his hand and warn him of the pain he caused himself (and her). Her eyes were too open now, even without the touch of the Millennium visions, her gaze fell on him and found a reason to worry. A hundred possibilities stirred within her, so many of them tragic, and Seto was at the center of them all.

 


	9. Darkshipping (blood)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #9--Darkshipping (Yami no Yugi X Yami no Bakura)
> 
> another one of these, i should've caught that mistake earlier

The Millennium Puzzle lived up to its name in more ways than one. 

As if the act of assembling its pieces together wasn’t enough to dissuade the average would-be thief or ego maniac, compounded onto that was the interior structure. In layman’s terms, a maze. 

  
But, on the more complex level, a barricade, composed of interwoven structures of false ends and dead starts littered with enough traps to put an end to any unwanted visitor.   
The Fragment, placed there as an extension of his consciousness by the spirit of the Ring, was too cautious and experienced to fall prey to such tricks however. Though he was amused at times to find the atmosphere changing in the most unpredictable ways occasionally, such as opening a door to find the interior suddenly cold as ice, or the gravity flipping on a dime.

  
But opening a particularly well-buried door to come face to face with red eyes was the icing on the proverbial cake.  
He’d seen the Pharaoh pass through the mental world from time to time to retire after a long day, or Fragments of the man himself perhaps representing lost memories, or an unconscious fracture from the whole of his mind. 

  
This was not either of those.

The Bakura-Fragment jumped backward, the blade of a knife slashing a deep gash across his cheek, spraying fresh blood across the stone floor. The young man holding it  _“resembled”_  the Pharaoh, or the form he took through his host, but only physically. His eyes were such a pulsating scarlet, they almost seemed to ‘bleed’ color, and the wordless sneer on his face did nothing to balance that.

  
_Charming, perhaps they could be friends._

  
It was a reflection of madness. A persona buried deep within his enemy’s mind, likely a leftover from his millennia of incarceration.

Whatever it was, the Fragment was drawn to it, to the crusty dark stains tainting the figure’s school uniform and emitting the sharp odor of iron.

_What a pleasant look for the Pharaoh._  
He grinned hungrily and slid his own switchblade from his pocket.  _This was going to be fun._

* * *

 

 

The fight was a dance of sorts, it could be described, if only in the loosest of terms. Or the participants would think so in order to justify what could generously be called a dirty scrap. To anyone else, the rolling and rough tumbling would be more akin to a vicious dogfight than any more eloquent description, rolling and kicking with no respect towards boundaries or notion of fair play and each bearing a knife at the ready.

The Fragment contained the memories of his original, but the spirit of the Ring was not one who usually engaged in physical combat, not when the forces of darkness were at his beck and call instead. So he didn’t know the ins and outs of melee fighting, but allowed instinct take over and clawed at his enemy’s face as though trying to rip the skin from his cheeks without any notion of experience or tactics. And to be perfectly honest, he certainly would have, given the opportunity. 

Fortunately for him, the Mad Pharaoh was really no better, running primarily off of fury and hunger like a mangy, stray dog. All whirl and bite, and no defined style, his bloodstained knife impacting into the ground several times as the Bakura-Fragment deflected it back away from his face again and again.

But then he reasoned, their relative skill levels were far from the point. He wasn’t usually interested in foolish fisticuffs anyway, a talent better suited to Yugi’s lowborn friends (loudmouth and busybody both, and the annoyance they gave him), whatever they wanted to think. No, what was so delicious and enjoyable about this fight was the insanity in the eyes of the one he dedicated himself to destroying; scarlet glowing in dim light never seemed to fade. If he could just pin the Pharaoh down and stare into those twisted eyes, maybe he’d see the reflection of his millennia of desolation, an appetizer to the all too perfect vengeance that he’d be meting out. 

Then came his opportunity.

The Fragment smashed his opponent’s hand down on the brick floor at just the right time, knocking the knife from his hands and leaving him open for the white-haired intruder to force him to the ground. 

The stench of dried blood washed over them, though it was unknown whether it was from the gash on the thief’s cheek, or the darkened stains discoloring the mass of the Pharaoh’s tattered school uniform. And the mad one laughed in his face, so taken by the emotions that consumed him so long ago. He laughed even as the Fragment pinned and beat him down, and sank his teeth down into his shoulder enough to taste the long-forgotten echoes of fear and loneliness and despair that turned him into what he was now. The white-haired man could not imagine a more satisfying taste; his switchblade was balanced on the Pharaoh’s chest in a white-knuckled grip as the sensation faded.

In the waking world, the conscious Pharaoh would not know what had transpired, except perhaps as a vaguely remembered nightmare that faded into the day.

But the thief would savor the hunt the prey. The night was all his.


	10. Danceshipping (synch)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #10--Danceshipping (Mai Kujaku X Anzu Mazaki)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i have a particular fondness for this pair and looking back on it, I wish I'd made this drabble longer

Mai always thought she was a thrill to watch, whether it was in a game or through words, Anzu was a force of passion and certainty that hadn’t taken her very long to appreciate. At first it was difficult to take her seriously, but then Mai had always only relied on herself, so Anzu’s sense of faith was something new and unpredictable.

But she hadn’t expected to get so attached and dispensing with tales of her experiences to a young woman just coming into her prime. And her own cynicism softened more and more with each one of their talks. Even years later, that hadn’t changed.

It wasn’t just words, but actions as well.

Even now she was dancing in a private studio, grace and poise that her adventurous attitude wouldn’t suggest (Mai used to call it tomboyish; she didn’t use that word anymore though), technique that she longed to share with the world. Anzu had already shared it with Mai, alone on a studio floor that echoed with every step, fingers entwined (She knew from experience the younger woman’s hands were stronger than they appeared, deceptively calloused and comfortingly warm).

In fact, just thinking about it made her wish for another.

Each dance, each style was different, and she never grew tired of it. 

So Mai threaded her way from the empty audience chairs and caught Anzu’s hand in her own as she spun. 

“Could I take this dance?”


	11. Siblingshipping (phone)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #11--Siblingshipping (Mokuba Kaiba X Shizuka Kawai)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this ship needs more love for real

They met irregularly at first, days set aside on the calendar in what Mokuba liked to refer to as “training sessions” for his lessons in the art of Capmon (though he’d been persuaded several times to stop for ice cream and music instead) though he could have done with more chances to talk to her. Shizuka didn’t live in Domino  and that did its part in putting a damper on how much they got to see each other, at first anyway. 

It started with a warm meeting on a blimp in the middle a painful time, but he found himself wondering later. She wasn’t a bad player, and patient with him too. He wouldn’t mind playing with her again. Mokuba wouldn’t bother Seto with the issue, so he went to Isono and asked him to look up a few numbers for him. But even after negotiating his lessons, he wasn’t satisfied.

Part of him–the impatient (mildly bratty) part–wanted to try throwing money at the problem; surely Shizuka’s mom wouldn’t mind if he rented her a free ride every day and consolation dinner, but somehow he thought the girl wouldn’t appreciate that approach very much. And as much as he wanted to get to know her better, every logical impulse in his body was throwing up a flashing warning against going to Jounouchi  about it. Mokuba was thrown out of his thoughts when the mobile Isono lent him (under insistent badgering from the younger Kaiba, but given up willingly nonetheless) started ringing yet again, and he brightened up at the familiar number on the ID. He dashed out of the office with the cell plastered to his ear, Seto staring after him with curiously furrowed brows and a gaze full of unasked questions.

And there was one thing he could be grateful for.

No matter how long he spent talking with her over the phone, he’d never run the risk of running up the bill.


	12. Rivalshipping (AU-alliance)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> #12--Rivalshipping (Seto Kaiba X Yugi Mutou)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AU-based ask, based off of Hunger Games

 

The moment that the blare of the starting bell sounded, Seto turned on his heel and bolted for the outskirts where the relatively open, grassy hill gave way abruptly to thick forest. Rigorous training had taught him that hanging back and trying his hand at snatching a bad of supplies in this unfolding madness wasn’t a smart idea, not with his particular skillset anyhow. Seto caught a brief glimpse of that blond-haired Number 13 (he hadn’t been told to bother memorizing the names of the tributes from that sector, not when they rarely survived for very long) bodily throwing aside another tribute before slinging a duffle over his shoulder and dashing out of sight. That one looked to be trouble.

Seto knew better than to stop for supplies; he wasn’t built for brutish melee fisticuffs and knew he could always steal or backtrack for anything later, when the killing field had quieted. He was more tactical that that. However, just as Seto reached the edge of the incline, he tripped over something that issued a loud grunt of pain and tumbled ungracefully down the slope of the hill and into the bushes below. When he grumbled and sat up to snarl at the offending body that had tripped him, he came face to face with the boy from sector 6, clutching a bulging duffle that was almost as big as he was.

Seto ran through his memory for the name that matched up with the wild hair and small stature, remembering the surprisingly high numbers the tribute had accrued during the pre-game betting pools. How, he wasn’t sure, since no one else was privy to that information… ”Mutou, Yugi Mutou.” His tone wasn’t as angry as he’d been originally going for.

“Kaiba…”The boy straightened up and tightened his fingers around the handle of his bag, rather wary and steady despite the tint of green creeping into his cheeks. Seto couldn’t help but be intrigued; Yugi must be more than he looked if he was able to get high reviews from the betting pool and the determined gaze hinted at it as well, but he wasn’t well liked among most of the other tributes (not unlike Seto himself actually). Besides which, loners didn’t last long in this competition and the boy still managed to get his hands on supplies, and all of this combined to make him useful. 

The sound of bones breaking and death jolted them both back to the immediate danger, and realized they had to make themselves scarce before the others noticed them. Seto turned towards Yugi and bit out a sharp “truce?” which the boy seemed to accept with uncertainty, the wariness in his violet eyes fading slightly. Before the noise of the battle could reach them, the two took off, and Seto wondered what it would be like to face this “ally” in the end. He was always told that the greatest danger in allies was not trust, but getting too attached and being unable to carry out the deed.

He was not intending on making that mistake.

Unbeknownst to him, Yugi was silently pleading with himself not to do the same.


End file.
